Colombian Rebels Free British, Israeli Hostages

[Judi Lynn]

Colombian Rebels Free British, Israeli Hostages
Mon December 22, 2003 12:06 PM ET

By William Parra
SIERRA NEVADA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian Marxist rebels Monday released four Israeli hikers and a British backpacker they kidnapped 100 days ago, handing them over to a church-led humanitarian commission.

Israelis Benny Daniel, Ido Guy, Erez Altawil and Orpaz Ohayon and Briton Mark Henderson appeared in good health as they boarded helicopters in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains, according to a Reuters witness.

"It's something that we've all been waiting for, for three months. And now it's finally going to happen," Henderson told Reuters at the secret jungle handoff site.

The released hostages were being taken to Bogota, where relatives were waiting.
(snip/...)

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4032534



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colombian rebels set to free 5 foreigners

By Cesar Garcia
Associated Press
Published December 22, 2003

SANTA MARTA, Colombia -- After three months in captivity, four Israelis and a Briton have begun a trek to freedom in the jungle-covered mountains of northern Colombia, a humanitarian commission member said Sunday.

The five kidnapped backpackers headed to an undisclosed location in the Sierra Nevada mountains for their expected release by rebels as soon as Monday, said Cesar Velasquez, a member of the commission negotiating the hostages' release.

The National Liberation Army, or ELN, said last week that it would release the five hostages before Dec. 31. Defense Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe said the hundreds of troops in the region would ease operations to permit the release. (snip)

(snip) The ELN said it kidnapped the backpackers to protest the treatment of people in the Sierra Nevada by right-wing paramilitary factions and the army.
(snip/...)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0312220074dec22,1,3367552.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed